Big Game Parks run World Wildlife Day 'Clean Up' Campaign

Posted on: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Big Game Parks played a major role in World Wildlife Day in Swaziland this year, taking a step towards its conservation goals with the help of young people. World Wildlife Day is a time to celebrate African Wildlife, and globally, this year’s Day (3rd March 2017) saw the theme of “Listen to the Young Voices” embraced.

Since almost one quarter of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 24, continued efforts need to be made to encourage young people, as the future leaders and decision makers of the world, to act on both local and global levels to protect wildlife. It is Big Game Parks mission to open up Swaziland’s youth to realistic conservation.

World Wildlife Day encourages people around the world to come together to address ongoing major threats to wildlife including habitat change, over-exploitation or illicit trafficking. This year World Wildlife Day proposed the challenge, “Do one thing to help the world’s wildlife.” Big Game Parks teamed up with the Manzini Rhinos Rugby Club and worked with pupils from Lobamba National High School and Esitjeni Primary School to get involved by running a “Clean-Up Campaign” from Esitjeni Road to Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary main gate.

A quick presentation was given, with the hope of inspiring young people to take action and conserve our wildlife and natural environments. Big Game Parks discussed the threat of devaluing wildlife by substituting conservation, (wise and sustainable utilisation of self-renewing natural resources) with preservation and protectionist philosophies.

The purpose of the “Clean-Up” Campaign was to highlight how doing something so small, such as picking up litter, can make such a difference. Sometimes it’s a lot of little things adding up that make a big difference!

Our collective conservation actions can be the difference between wildlife surviving or disappearing. Let’s all come together and do our part! Even though World Wildlife Day is over for another year, lets do a little something for our wildlife and environment every day.